Power NI Dr. McKenna Cup Section A
Monaghan 1-12 Fermanagh 0-7 16/1/13
Monaghan secured top spot in the Dr. McKenna Cup Section A with an eight-point win over Fermanagh in Inniskeen on Wednesday evening. A fairly dull first half developed into a shoot-out between the two number 13s – Monaghan’s Owen Duffy and Fermanagh’s Paul Ward – but Malachy O’Rourke’s men took over in the second half, hitting an unanswered 1-6 between the 50th and 63rd minutes. The introduction of experienced duo Darren Hughes and Paul Finlay (making his first appearance of 2013) helped Monaghan, who kicked 13 wides in total, to make their dominance count against a Fermanagh team who managed just one point from play.
Dermot Malone, who got the goal his performance deserved just past the hour-mark, impressed again for Monaghan, as did Fintan Kelly, Duffy and Dick Clerkin, while Fermanagh were far too reliant on Ward, who was their only scorer until Seán Quigley kicked a point from a free in the dying minutes.
It took 11 minutes for either side to get a score, when Monaghan eventually made their possession count with a left-footed point from Owen Duffy. Seán Quigley had a chance at the other end two minutes later when he caught a high ball in from Niall McElroy, but his shot at goal was saved by Monaghan keeper Rory Beggan, before Duffy tapped over a 13-metre free for a foul on Stephen Smyth to double the hosts’ lead.
A well-worked move involving Conor Galligan, Dermot Malone and Shane McQuillan almost created a goal for Kieran Hughes, but a combination of goalkeeper Chris Breen and Anthony McGuinness managed to scramble the ball out for a ’45. Fermanagh belatedly got off the mark on 23 minutes when Paul Ward converted a 25-metre free for a foul on Kane Connor, but Duffy quickly responded in kind after a foul on Malone. A foul on Damien Kelly allowed Ward to point another free for Fermanagh, but Duffy and Kieran Hughes combined to set up Dick Clerkin to split the posts. Malone then collected a Clerkin free and laid it off for Duffy to kick his fourth point and send Monaghan in at half-time leading by 0-5 to 0-2.
Fermanagh started the second half brightly, as Ward again found his range from a 30-metre free after a foul on Niall McElroy, before kicking the visitors’ first and only point from play. Monaghan hit back through Owen Duffy, who had been well-placed by Malone and although Ward tapped over a 20-metre free after Fintan Kelly had been harshly penalized for over-carrying, Kieran Hughes replied with a fine point on the turn. Fintan Kelly added a well-taken point a minute later, before Clerkin booted over from distance as Monaghan began to turn on the style. Paul Finlay’s first meaningful involvement was to play a clever pass to his club-mate Shane McQuillan, who marked his first start with an impressive point from the right wing.
Subs Finlay and Darren Hughes added fine points from play – the latter a long-range effort – and Monaghan put the result beyond doubt when a one-two between Malone and Finlay allowed the Castleblayney forward to punch the ball into the empty net. Fermanagh put a better look in the scoreboard thanks to close-range frees by Ward and Quigley in the closing minutes, but Monaghan still had eight points to spare at the final whistle. The draw between Derry and Antrim in Section C meant that Peter Canavan’s side still finished as best runners-up and will advance to the semi-finals against Tyrone, while Monaghan will take on Section B winners Down. Both games will be part of a double-header in Armagh, with Monaghan and Down first up at 2pm.
Monaghan: R Beggan; O Coyle, D Wylie, C Galligan; F Kelly (0-1), N McAdam, M McElroy; G McArdle, D Clerkin (Capt., 0-2); S McQuillan (0-1), P Donaghy, S Smyth; O Duffy (0-5, 2f), K Hughes (0-1), D Malone (1-0).
Subs: Darren Hughes (0-1) for McArdle (47 mins), P Finlay (0-1) for Smyth (49), K O’Connell for Galligan (60), D Hahessy for Malone, T O’Neill for Donaghy (both 67).
Fermanagh: C Breen; N Bogue (Capt.), A McGuinness, J Irvine; A Breen, D Kelly, M O’Brien; J Sherry, M McGrath; R Hyde, K Connor, N McElroy (Tempo); P Ward (0-6, 5f), Seán Quigley (0-1f), C McAleer.
Subs: S Carters for McAleer, N McElroy (Lisnaskea) for Connor (both H-T), S Lyons for A Breen, N Shannon for Hyde (both 51), B Owens for McGuinness (inj., 53)
Referee: S McNamee (Tyrone).
By michael Wed 16th Jan
